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Valentine’s Day is just around the corner! What are your plans- fancy big dinner or staying in with a home cooked meal?

We’re staying in this year and celebrating with this simple chocolate cake. It’s a quick 1 bowl dessert, no mess, no fuss and sugar free as it’s sweetened with maple syrup. I hope you enjoy it and let me know how it turns out.

Method:

• Whip the butter, add the eggs until double in volume.• Add the maple syrup, fleur de sel and vanilla bean.• Gently fold in the flour, baking powder, and cocoa powder until combined.• With the mixer running on the lowest speed, slowly pour in the espresso. Can also be done by hand – gently fold in the espresso with a whisk until smooth.• Pour into a 9″ baking pan with a removable bottom and bake for 15-20 minutes.• Remove and let cool.• Serve with whipped cream, dust with icing sugar or dust with dehydrated crushed raspberries as shown in the photo.

*The cake can also be topped with a ganache frosting (1:1 ratio chocolate + hot whipping cream, let stand and whisk until smooth and cool enough to pour or thickened to spread)

Happy December! We’re in the last days of the year and unveiling our final PC Black Label Collection box. Let’s take a closer look at these wonderful products and what we will be using to make our holiday recipe this month!

100% pure and crafted in the Beauce-Frontenac region of Quebec, this lusciously sweet Pure Maple Syrup is harvested late in the season for a heightened and deeply rich maple flavour and naturally dark colour.

I opted to go with the PC Black Label Pure Maple Syrup this month to make Maple Mousse Verrine cups. Perfect for the holiday season and easy entertaining, they’re decadent and delicious and will have your guests asking for seconds! Simple ingredients bring this beautiful dessert together in no time and can be prepared ahead of time without the fuss!

This PC Black Label Pure Maple Syrup is rich and decadent and we’ve been enjoying it in these Maple Mousse Verrines as well as on pancakes, waffles, oatmeal (yum!) ice cream and even in my morning coffee.

I hope you’ll try out my new recipe this month and let me know what you think in the comments section below or on my social media channels using my hashtag #hautesucre.

Whether you’re a home chef or an aspiring foodie, the PC Black Label Collection makes it easy to unleash your culinary curiosity and get creative. Discover the entire collection and be inspired to #PlayWithYourFood at pc.ca/blacklabel.

A must-have during the holiday season and colder weather months, add a drop or two of this refreshing pure peppermint extract to hot chocolate, cappuccino, cookies, candies, icings, and sweetened whipped cream. It’s also great massaged onto your temples to relieve a headache!

This sweet wine jelly is infused with ripe, sweet figs and dry, full-bodied Cabernet Sauvignon, a red wine with rich black currant and dark cherry notes. It’s the perfect pairing this holiday season, whether it’s a part of an appetizer cheese tray or brushed onto a plum or pear tart for dessert.

Known for its superior quality, the Madagascar-Bourbon vanilla bean is the most popular of all the vanilla varieties. It is highly fragrant, with desirable thin, oil-rich skin, and has sweet, smooth flavours and aromas.

I have had a chance to try these products in various recipes and I must say that my favourite item this month has been the PC Black Label Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Bean. As a Pastry Chef, this is a highly coveted item that I love to work with and always reach for before using any extracts. The flavour is rich and shines in any sweet or savory dish that it is used in. For this month, I decided to showcase my love for cranberries and vanilla bean in the form of scones. I love this time of year with the fresh cranberries and the holiday season fast approaching, these are perfect to make for a weekend brunch. They are sure to please everyone. If you’re not a fan of cranberries, you can swap them out for blueberries or raspberries. I’m excited to be hosting a giveaway for next month’s PC Black Label Collection Black Box on my Instagram feed. Read on for more information and how to enter below. Good Luck! I hope you’ll enjoy the recipe and it becomes your favourite go-to breakfast dessert. I would love to see your recreations using the hashtag, #hautesucre on your social media channels. Whether you’re a home chef or an aspiring foodie, the PC Black Label Collectionmakes it easy to unleash your culinary curiosity and get creative. Discover the entire collection and be inspired to #PlayWithYourFood at pc.ca/blacklabel.

*PC Black Label Collection December Black Box Instagram Giveaway*

Giveaway details will be posted on my Instagram account @hautesucre. Head on over to find the post of this Cranberry Vanilla Bean Scones Recipe to enter via the Instagram comments. Giveaway Rules:

The giveaway will be open for entries on Instagram from Monday November 26th, 2018 to Wednesday November 28, 2018 9:00PM EST. Please follow the instructions in the Instagram post to enter.

The winner will be chosen randomly on the morning of Thursday November 29, 2018 and contacted via Instagram direct message.

Topping:

2 tsp cream

2 tsp raw sugar

Finishing:

½ cup white chocolate, melted

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 425°F. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

For the Scones:

Using a sharp paring knife, slice the vanilla bean lengthwise from tip to end. Use the back of the knife to scrape out the vanilla beans. *The vanilla bean pod can be reused and added to your sugar container to make vanilla scented sugar.

Pour in the buttermilk and cranberries and stir with a fork until a soft, sticky dough forms. Turn out onto a floured surface and, with floured hands, gently knead and shape the dough, adding more flour to prevent sticking as necessary until dough comes together.

Pat out to a 9-inch (23 cm) circle or square as shown and cut into 12 wedges. Place on prepared baking sheet, at least 1-inch (2.5 cm) apart.

Topping:

Brush tops of scones with heavy cream and sprinkle with raw sugar.

Bake for 15 to 20 min, until puffed and golden.

Let cool for at least 20 min on a wire rack.

Melt the white chocolate in a heat proof bowl for 45-60 seconds on high in the microwave.

Using the tines of a fork or the back of a spoon, drizzle the white chocolate over top of the scones. Let it set for a few minutes until the chocolate sets and is no longer runny. Enjoy!

Waffles are a weekend treat at home and we love gathering around for big brunches with everyone. From sweet to savory, the options are endless. We love these whole grain waffles because they’re a healthy alternative as they’re made with whole wheat flour and our favourite Tropicana Pure Premium Orange Juice.

I feel better knowing I’m feeding my family a healthier option with the addition of Tropicana Pure Premium Orange Juice as it includes two servings of fruit per cup and we get the additional vitamin C and potassium in our waffles.

But who are we kidding? I love orange juice and any way that I can incorporate it into my meal, I will. My two-year-old daughter will devour an entire waffle for breakfast and I don’t feel guilty serving them to my kids.

Crowned with our favourite toppings, they’re the perfect cozy weekend brunch meal. To make it even more fun, I like to set up a mini fruit bar station for my kids that includes various berries, sliced oranges, nuts, whipped cream and maple syrup. And of course, we cannot forget the dusting of icing sugar that crowns the top!

I hope you’ll try them out and if you do, please share them with me using my hashtag #hautesucre, I would love to see them. Make these for your next brunch, they’re sure to become your new favourite, get the recipe below.

Whole Grain Orange Waffles Recipe

Makes 6 Waffles

Ingredients:

1 1/2 Organic Whole Wheat Flour

2 tblsp buttermilk powder

½ tsp kosher salt

¼ tsp ground vanilla bean

¼ tsp ground cinnamon

1 ¼ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp baking soda

3 tblsp raw sugar

¾ cup Tropicana Pure Premium Orange Juice

1 large free range egg

3 tblsp unsalted butter, softened or melted

Toppings:

Fresh berries

Whipped cream

Icing sugar

Maple Syrup

Directions:

In a high-speed blender mix all the ingredients in the order listed and mix on medium-high for 1 minute or until the ingredients are combined. Set aside.

Transfer to a cooling rack and continue making the rest of the waffles

Transfer one waffle to a plate and top with your desired toppings such as mixed berries, maple syrup and finish with whipped cream and a dusting of icing sugar.

This post is sponsored by Tropicana Canada. I have partnered up with Tropicana Canada to bring you delicious new recipes that will highlight the goodness of cooking and baking with Tropicana Pure Premium® Orange Juice and how I enjoy it in my daily life.

(This post is sponsored by Tropicana Canada. I have partnered up with Tropicana Canada to bring you delicious new recipes that will highlight the goodness of cooking and baking with Tropicana Pure Premium® Orange Juice and how I enjoy it in my daily life.)

I am a big advocate of orange juice, always have been. Not only do I love the refreshing taste but I enjoy the immense benefits it brings such as a daily dose of vitamin C. A lot of love into a 250ml glass of 100% Tropicana Pure Premium® Orange Juice. Each glass contains:

Two servings of fruit

Full day’s supply of Vitamin C

As much potassium as a medium banana

I have been buying Tropicana Pure Premium® Orange Juice for myself and my family for as long as I can remember as it is apart of our healthy diet. I never realized all the added benefits I was getting as we primarily drink it because it tastes good – the additional benefits are a bonus!

I love incorporating ingredients that I trust into my cooking and baked goods and this new recipe for Orange Tea Cakesis no exception. It’s delicious, straightforward and requires little fuss or expertise. As these are petit fours, you can be creative with your choice of molds. I have used mini madeleine molds, but you can also use mini savarin ring molds as well as mini muffin tins.

I hope you’ll try them out and if you do, please share them with me using my hashtag #hautesucre, I would love to see them. Make these for your next cookie exchange or holiday brunch, they’re sure to become your new holiday favourite, get the recipe below.

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350F Line a mini madeleine pan or mini muffin tray with butter. If using silicone bakeware, do not coat with butter, but place silicone moulds over a baking sheet for the oven. Best eaten on the day they’re baked.

In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking power, and salt. Set aside.

In a large stand mixer with the paddle attachment, add the butter and sugar and beat on medium high for 3 minutes until the mixture is light and fluffy.

Add the eggs, one at a time and continue to beat for 5 minutes. You want the batter to be light and fluffy.

Lower the speed on the stand mixer and pour in the vanilla, orange zest and orange juice, mix until combined.

Keeping the mixer on the lowest speed, add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined – do not over mix.

With a small teaspoon or cookie scoop, transfer the batter to your mini cake pan and bake at 350F for 15 min or until slightly golden.

Dark Chocolate Banana Muffins Recipe

Whether you call them muffins, cupcakes or banana bread, they’re all delicious! We had a debate as to whether or not these classified as muffins and my now 7 year old was quick to point out that there was no icing so indeed these were muffins. Ha ha! Nothing like the wisdom of a 7 year old to put it straight sometimes.

This is a quick 5 minute, one bowl recipe and you can even have your kids mix it all up together. It’s best to have all the ingredients ready if you plan to do that. You can also make this into a quick bread recipe, although the bake time will be doubled . I like them as muffins as they bake quickly and are great for quick snacks and lunch boxes.

I’ve added the pecans as an additional, optional topping but they taste good without them too as I made half a batch without. You can also replace with hazelnuts or walnuts for a different flavour.

I used Lindt dark chocolate couveture callets and left them whole as they are wonderful melted through when you take a warm bite, as you can see in the photo below.

I also added Callebaut white chocolate callets that look more like chocolate chips. I prefer this brand as it has a nice balanced sweetness that goes well with baked goods. This being said, you can use whatever you have in your pantry i.e. regular chocolate chips, but the taste of the chocolate is really amplified with couveture.

I hope you enjoy them and if you do make this recipe, please share and use my hashtag, #hautesucre on the social media channels, as I would love to see them!

Keep an eye out as I will be hosting a giveaway over the next few days…stay tuned!

Guys! I thought I’d share this quick recipe, it only takes 5 minutes! I literally made these just before heading out the door for school pick up this afternoon and they made the best after school snacks.😋
I’ll be the first to admit I have a pet peeve – leftover cereal boxes piled up drive me crazy! My son loves buying cereal but after one bowl, he’s done with it! Something about soggy cereal and milk…haha 😂

I took a mix of glutenfree cereals such as Choco Chimps by Nature’s Path Organic, Kellog’s Cocoa Rice Krispies and good ol’ Cheerios! I didn’t add any chocolate to make these but if you feel the need, you could give them a good drizzle of melted dark chocolate or add in a handful of dark chocolate chips. Enjoy!

*And don’t forget, if you make these using my recipe below, please tag them #hautesucre on your social media accounts as I would love to see them!😊

Brown Butter Chocolate Krispie Squares Recipe

Makes 16 squares

Ingredients:

1/3 cup salted butter

2.5 cups marshmallows

Pinch of fleur de sel

1/2 tsp ground vanilla bean or extract

4-5 cups of mixed chocolate cereals of your choice or *as noted above

Method:

1. In a large bowl combine the mix of cereals and set aside.

2. Line a 9×9 square pan with parchment and set aside.

3. In a heated saucepan melt the butter until just golden and set off the heat, then add the vanilla, salt and marshmallows and mix quickly leaving a few marshmallows whole.

4. Pour the mixture into the bowl of cereals and mix quickly.

5. Transfer to the lined pan, pressing the mixture down evenly with the spatula.

I just made another batch of delicious Hazelnut Mylk…this must be my second batch this week, it’s THAT good, I’m so addicted!😋

Another wonderful alternative to dairy milk, this tastes amazing on its own or in your favourite hot beverage. My son loves this milk for his hot chocolates and I’m enjoying it with my coffee. My husband loves an ice cold glass, it’s very refreshing!

See my recipe below if you’re interested in making your own. I’d love to hear from you, tag your creations with #hautesucre, I’d love to see them! 🙂

Recipe for Hazelnut Mylk.

(Makes approximately 3 cups)

1 cup hazelnuts, soaked for 1 hr and drained

3 cups of filtered water

3 tblsp maple syrup

Pinch of vanilla bean

Pinch of fleur de sel

Method:

Add all of the ingredients to a high speed blender and process until smooth.

Pass through a nut milk bag or ultra fine sieve and strain as much liquid as possible.

Reserve the ground nuts for another use (such as my pumpkin pie with hazelnut Crust!)

Transfer to a glass bottle, will keep for a few days, refrigerated. Best served ice cold, enjoy!